The Beach Boys occupy a unique space in the rock ‘n’ roll continuum: Although the band has gone on to become one of the most successful enterprises in popular music (founding member Mike Love continues to tour under the “Beach Boys” banner, with a rotating cast of nondescript septuagenarians that, when he’s feeling generous, sometimes include his old bandmates), their only truly significant work is confined to two records: 1966’s Pet Sounds and its famously aborted (though eventually released) follow-up, Smile, which began production in late ’66 and was shelved in ’67.
That’s the period dramatized in the better parts of Love & Mercy: Paul Dano, an actor well regarded for his convincing portrayals of characters who are at once endearing and batshit, pulls off the idiosyncrasies of the young Wilson perfectly.